


Too Dark to Be Paradise

by lovelesscherub



Category: Kingsman (Movies), Legend (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1960s, Crimes & Criminals, Crossover, M/M, Sex Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:49:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29519718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelesscherub/pseuds/lovelesscherub
Summary: In the 1960s, underground criminal twins Reggie and Ronnie Kray rule London. They open an elite nightclub called 'Paradise' for the cream of the London upper class, to keep up a clean reputation and prove that they have chosen the path of being straight and narrow club owners. Harry Hart, a Kingsman spy, knows better than to fall for their tacky lies, and he wants nothing more than to see the Kray twins locked up behind bars forever. While working on the twins’ case, however, Harry does not expect to meet the most beautiful boy he has ever laid his eyes on. Could the boy be the answer Harry has been looking for, or is Harry just blind to how truly and deeply involved the boy is with the Krays?
Relationships: Harry Hart | Galahad/Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, Ronald "Ronnie" Kray/"Mad" Teddy Smith
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Too Dark to Be Paradise

It had been two years since Reginald Kray was arrested for aggravated assault, and somehow he had served a whole of two years in prison. Harry Hart was genuinely surprised, because usually Reggie Kray was able to weasel his way out of anything, and Harry had expected him to be out in a few months, tops. Perhaps aggravated assault was only a term to cover up the real reasons behind his arrest. The return of Reggie, and his twin brother Ronnie, was inevitable, though. They were like cockroaches, or leeches, or any kind of parasites that one simply could not get rid of, no matter how hard one tried.

Following Reggie Kray’s release, London’s upper-class had only been talking about one thing; the new luxury nightclub set to open on the day Reggie’s twin Ronnie was going to be released from a psychiatric hospital. Not that anyone knew, because the twins and their gang were willing to pay any amount of money to buy one’s silence. The problem with rich people, Harry Hart thought to himself, was that they could get out of anything with money, and they were always willing to overlook anything as long as there was money involved.

‘ **LONDON’S OWN PIECE OF PARADISE** ’, said the headline in all block capital letters, as Harry read the newspaper he had spread across his desk. His fingers played with the corner of the thin page as he eyed the article he had already read through at least three times since it had been published. The headline was supposed to be clever, as the journalist praised the soon-to-be-opened club named ‘ _Paradise_ ’ as something that would improve London’s image and attract more people from abroad with its indulgent tropical themes and expensive interior. And the much-awaited opening night was tonight.

Harry wanted to vomit at the cliché of it all as he closed the newspaper and set it aside. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, picking up the invitation that had been lying next to the newspaper on the desk. After all, he did feel like a bit of a hypocrite since he was part of London’s upper-class as well, and even if no one knew him by his looks, they knew him by his name as the owner of the Kingsman tailor shop, making high-end men’s suits for generations since the first World War. Sometimes Harry thought that the difference between him and the Kray twins was a very thin one, since the tailor shop was his cover for being a spy, and Harry knew that this new nightclub was going to be Ronnie and Reggie's cover for all their criminal activity. He shook his head at such thoughts and let out a dry laugh as he looked at the invitation. Tacky, like the name and the description in the newspaper, decorated with colourfully drawn palm trees and flowers and golden calligraphy lettering.

Sure, Harry was one of the more highly skilled spies, but Kingsman was well capable of sending any one of their spies on this mission to look into the Kray twins and their new so-called business. But it wasn’t just another mission for Harry, not after he had been invested in it for years and determined to get Reggie and Ronnie to pay for every single sin and crime they had ever committed. They always slipped right through his fingers, or weren’t punished the way Harry would’ve liked them to, but he had still insisted on being the one to work this mission, because he wasn’t ready to give up just yet, or ever.

Harry kept playing with the invitation between his fingers, staring at it but not really looking, until his vision went a little blurry and he finally set it down next to the newspaper. After pinching the bridge of his nose, he glanced up at the loudly ticking clock on the wall and let out another sigh. He had less than an hour left to prepare and get ready before Hamish would arrive at his door to pick him up, disguised as Harry’s personal driver, and Harry was still sitting at his desk in his robe. He had a new, freshly tailored suit waiting for him, with the latest wires and microphones hidden inside for Harry to use at the club to communicate with Hamish without, hopefully, raising any suspicions.

Harry got up from his desk and walked out of his office, heading into his bedroom to change out of his robe and into his evening wear. He loved a good form-fitting and expensive looking suit, and for this particular mission he had gone with a dark grey three-piece suit and a simple white dress shirt underneath. He didn’t need to draw too much attention to himself, as long as he looked clean-cut enough to mix in with the other guests at the nightclub. After Harry had put on the suit, he made sure to check that all the wires were straight in the waistcoat and the microphone was safely tucked away underneath his collar.

Hamish always made a point of pulling up to the cul-de-sac as loudly as he could to make sure Harry heard him and came outside instead of making him get out of the car to go and ring the doorbell. It was better for Hamish to stay in the shadows of the black car and not make himself known to Harry’s neighbours. Harry stepped out of his front door, ready to be chauffeured to the _Paradise_ of Reggie and Ronnie Kray. He could see the gleam of Hamish’s eyes behind the thick rim of his glasses, and Harry gave him an acknowledging nod as he took the couple of steps down from his front door to the car, entering the backseat.

“Galahad”, Hamish greeted Harry, watching the other man through the rearview mirror. Harry couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the codename, Hamish was always so careful with protocol, even when they could’ve been addressing each other by their first name. “Merlin”, Harry greeted back to humour the other man, raising an eyebrow slightly at the dark eyes staring back at him from the mirror, before turning his gaze to the briefcase laid out next to him on the backseat of the car.

“Open the briefcase”, Hamish told Harry as he turned around in the cul-de-sac and pulled back onto the road. “I brought you new glasses. Take yours off and put the new ones on.” And Harry did as he was told. He clicked open the leather briefcase which was full of equipment for Hamish to use for communication while Harry was at the club, but there was also a pair of glasses. Harry removed his own and replaced them with the new pair. He wasn’t the biggest fan of the tortoise shell design, but it was subtle enough for Harry not to completely detest them. “Tap the right handle twice with your finger”, Hamish said, glancing at Harry through the mirror again, and it took all of Harry’s willpower not to tell Hamish to keep his eyes on the road. Harry tapped the handle twice with his forefinger, and he could hear a quiet beeping sound ringing in his ear twice. “If something happens to the wires in your suit and we lose connection, the glasses will work as a microphone. You will also be able to hear me through them”, Hamish explained, and Harry could see a hint of a proud smile on the man’s face. “Impressive”, Harry mused out loud, tapping the side of his glasses again, assuming it would turn off the microphone that way.

The drive to the club took almost half an hour, and by the time they arrived, there was a long queue of almost identical black cars waiting to drop guests off by the front entrance before going to find a parking spot or paying for a valet to do so. “Remember to stay focused, Galahad. You’re only going in to try and gather information. I would hate for this mission to go tits up just because you let your personal feelings get in the way”, Hamish spoke, and this time he didn’t meet Harry’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Harry wanted to come up with a snarky remark, but he knew Hamish was speaking from years of experience both as Harry’s colleague as well as his friend. “Good luck”, Hamish said as he pulled the car up to the front entrance and then stopped and got out of the car to open the door for Harry. “Thank you, Merlin”, Harry murmured, stepping out of the car and fixing the handkerchief in his chest pocket.

As Hamish drove down the road (he still had to stay close enough to be within the range of the equipment he had in the car), Harry strode confidently to the front door. He had to wait a couple of moments outside as people were excitedly greeting each other right at the entrance and didn’t have the patience to leave the handshakes and the cheek-kisses for when they were out of everyone’s way and inside the club. Harry could already hear the upbeat jazz music, and he knew the place was going to be loud with music and chatter the moment he would step inside.

The place seemed so much bigger and more spacious on the inside than what one would assume from the outside. There was a stage on one end with a band playing lively jazz and a beautiful brunette singer wearing a bright yellow dress. Grand, golden pillars in each corner with heavy velvet curtains hanging from them. What broke the illusion of an elite nightclub was the fact that the walls were covered in a tacky tropical vista wallpaper that repeated itself every three feet or so, and Harry couldn’t help but chuckle slightly to himself after noticing it. Opposite the stage there was an open bar with small round tables covered with golden tablecloths, and the whole place was packed pretty tight already. Maybe the Krays hadn’t expected such a turnout, despite having sent out countless invitations.

Harry decided to take full advantage of the open bar and he walked over to order himself a vodka martini. There were multiple young men and women working at the bar, all wearing matching tops with ‘ _Paradise_ ’ embroidered on them in gold thread. Harry took a seat on a stool as he waited for his drink, and judging by the amount of people waiting with him, it was going to take a while. He casually leaned back with his elbow on the marble-top counter, and looked over the people already seated at the tables with their drinks, chatting the night away.

Tucked away in the corner, behind all the small tables, was a bigger table, placed like a private booth, and Harry’s spine straightened immediately as he sat back up when he recognised Ronnie Kray sitting there. Still the same as Harry remembered, with his slicked-back hair and lopsided smile, holding a drink in one hand and his arm draped over the shoulders of the boy sitting next to him. The boy stole all of Harry’s attention for a moment, and Harry was right to call him a boy, he looked so young next to Ronnie, all rosy cheeks and big blue eyes. He was wearing a classic black suit with a bow tie, almost matching what Ronnie was wearing, but underneath the suit his shirt was a light peach colour rather than the white of Ronnie’s, and it made him look a little out of place. It shouldn’t have surprised Harry to see Ronnie with a gorgeous young boy by his side, because Harry knew all about Ronnie’s preferences when it came to the topic of companions.

“Your vodka martini, sir. I’m sorry for the wait.” A young man on the other side of the counter slid Harry his drink and pulled him out of his thoughts, making him turn around and stop staring at Ronnie and the boy. “That’s quite alright, thank you”, Harry said politely, but the young man had already moved onto the next order. He took a sip of his drink, and while it wasn’t the best vodka martini Harry had ever had, it was more than good enough for Harry to help him stay focused.

Harry pushed himself off the stool and onto his feet, and with his drink in his hand, he started walking around while keeping an eye on Ronnie Kray and the boy. The dance floor in front of the stage was full of people, and all the tables near the bar were taken. People were standing in small crowds wherever they could, like they couldn’t meet and talk to enough people in one night. While Harry knew he didn’t exactly stand out from the crowd, he still didn’t want to risk making the wrong move and alert the Krays by acting suspicious. But it was so, so hard not to stare, though Harry wasn’t sure if he was staring at Ronnie Kray or the boy, and if it was the latter, it was probably for all the wrong reasons. Suddenly, Harry couldn’t finish the mission and get out of _Paradise_ fast enough.

Finishing his martini and carrying the empty glass in his hand until he passed an empty table and placed it down, Harry was scanning the place trying to spot Reggie somewhere in the crowd. It was surprising not to see him sitting next to his twin brother, but then again, one of them would have to entertain the crowds, and that certainly wasn’t Ronnie’s forte.

The band stopped playing and the people on the dance floor all stopped dancing. Suddenly there was loud clapping and cheering, and Harry turned around in time to catch the sight of Reggie climbing onto the stage, the singer in the yellow dress stepping aside to give Reggie access to her microphone. Reggie was the spitting image of his twin brother, but it was still easy to tell them apart. First of all, Reggie didn’t wear glasses like Ronnie did, and overall Reggie came off as much more confident, stronger, charismatic, creating a big shadow for his brother Ronnie to live in. Standing centre stage, Reggie placed his hand on his chest, right over his heart, and took a little bow, looking over at his audience and trying to act humble as people kept clapping and cheering. Harry, despite his body physically trying to hold him back, had to join in on the clapping part.

“Welcome to Paradise”, Reggie finally spoke into the microphone, and then there was more clapping and cheering. Harry must have puked in his mouth a little, but he smiled through it, because he had a part to play, and he had to play it convincingly.

Harry looked over his shoulder towards the booth, but saw that Ronnie wasn’t sitting there with the boy anymore. He must’ve gotten up, come closer to the stage to support his twin brother who was stealing the limelight from him. They were supposed to be equal partners, and Reggie hadn’t even made sure that Ronnie was sharing the stage with him, which Harry figured wasn’t going to make Ronnie very happy. Harry began turning back towards the stage, but halfway through between the booth and the stage, he noticed the boy coming out of some room and back into the club. The door was quite well hidden behind one of the heavy velvet curtains, and the boy’s timing was perfect because everyone’s focus was on Reggie on stage. There was a bright smile on the boy’s face, and as he was walking out of the hidden room, holding his right arm behind him, Harry noticed that the boy was holding Ronnie’s hand in his own, just for a split second before letting go of it as they both stepped out and the door closed behind him. Ronnie wasn’t too subtle about the way he zipped his trousers back up and smoothed his hands down the front of his suit. Harry was quick to put two and two together in his head, but he was sure he was the only one paying attention to the two.

“Shit”, Harry cursed under his breath when he locked eyes with the boy, only for a fleeting moment, but he had gotten caught staring, and that was always a bad thing on a mission. In his mind’s eye, Harry could picture Hamish first lifting his eyebrows and then frowning, listening to Harry curse and wondering if everything was alright. “This might be harder than I thought”, Harry murmured, making sure Hamish was the only one hearing him as he looked back up at Reggie on stage and put on a fake smile to blend back in with everyone.

Harry wanted to make a move, because standing there and listening to Reggie Kray felt like such a waste of time. But the boy had caught him staring, and that meant that he would be able to pick Harry out from a crowd, and Harry couldn’t risk a wrong move, especially not now. Reggie’s speech went on and on, and it was full of the cheesiest clichés, as if Reggie had tried to fit in as many as possible. But it was clever of him because he knew his audience, and Harry was the only exception to the fact that they were all eating it up, swooning and sighing and admiring the man on stage. Another exception was Hamish, and Harry smiled slightly to himself at the thought of the man trying not to smash the listening device in the car.

From the corner of his eye, Harry saw the boy and Ronnie moving away from the door and towards the main entrance. If the two were going out to get some fresh air, it would be the perfect opportunity for Harry to take a look at the hidden room. He watched the two, but he was much more subtle about it this time, and the boy didn’t seem to be looking out for anyone, all of his attention was on Ronnie who was fishing out a cigar from his pocket. Harry stayed completely still until the boy and Ronnie disappeared, and it wasn’t until another minute or two had passed before Harry moved.

Standing at the back of the crowd, no one was paying attention to him moving towards the side. But he still had to make sure he wasn’t alerting Reggie’s attention on stage, either. Once he got to the side, he stood by the curtain, making sure no one was paying attention to him as he stepped backwards towards the door, feeling for the handle and taking a hold of it, suppressing a smile when he realised the handle was turning and pushing the door open. So careless from one of the deadliest criminals in London.

The room was small and dark, apart from the lamp that stood on a wooden desk and illuminated the room in a dim, warm light. It looked like an office, with the desk and a chair at the back, one big sofa and two smaller sofas creating a half-circle around it. Small and intimate, a place for hiding away when it got too crowded, or a place to hide something from the prying eyes of so many people on the other side of the door.

Harry closed the door behind himself, as quietly as humanly possible, and then made his way over to the desk. He didn’t know when Reggie was going to end his speech and disappear again, and he had no idea when Ronnie and the boy would return, so he had no time to waste. “I’ve found a secret office”, Harry informed Hamish, keeping his voice low as he rounded the table and started pulling open the drawers. The first drawer on the right-hand side was locked, and Harry assumed it was either full of money or contained a gun. The second drawer was full of papers, mostly hand-written and crumpled. In the third drawer, Harry found what looked like three notebooks; all the same size with soft, black leather covers. Harry grabbed the first one on the top of the stack and pushed the drawer closed, and figuring he had no time to browse through it now, Harry slid it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

“Who are you?” '

Harry straightened back up and saw the boy standing by the door, one hand on the door frame and the other on the handle, pushing the door further open. The sweetness of the boy’s voice caught him a little off guard, and it didn’t match the roughness of his accent. It wasn’t until the boy raised his eyebrows expectantly at Harry, that Harry cleared his throat and spoke.

“Harry Hart”, he said, moving away from the table and towards the boy, holding his hand out for a handshake. “I own the Kingsman tailor shop”, Harry added, because if one felt guilty, one would also look guilty, and Harry couldn’t afford to make the boy more suspicious than he already must’ve been.

To Harry’s surprise, the boy stepped inside, but he didn’t go for the handshake. Harry still expected the boy to introduce himself, but instead he shot another question at him. “What are you doing in here?”

“I was looking for the Krays.”

“Well, they ain’t here, huh?”

“No, indeed not, I’m afraid. They must be exceptionally busy tonight.”

“What do you want?”

“Oh, yes, I was supposed to have a little chat with them. The tailors working for me at Kingsman would be honoured to make a pair of suits for Ronald and Reginald. It’s the least we can offer as a gift, to congratulate them on the opening of this magnificent club, as well as thank them for the invitation for tonight’s celebration.” Harry was making himself sick with what felt like the worst combination of words coming out of his mouth, but there was something about staring into the boy’s bright blue eyes from up close that made Harry lose half of his vocabulary.

The boy didn’t seem too convinced, and Harry didn’t blame him. He was still about to open his mouth to reply something, but was cut off short.

“Teddy, be a dear and come join me, would you?”

Ronnie had slid himself in through the door that was still hanging half-open. Harry caught a glimpse of Ronnie’s hand briefly touching the boy’s lower back, until he realised they weren’t alone in the room and quickly dropped it back to his side.

“A friend of yours?” Ronnie asked the boy, his eyes on Harry as he scrunched up his nose as an attempt to try and straighten his glasses.

“Harry Hart”, the boy, Teddy, introduced him to Ronnie.

“Yes, Harry Hart”, Harry quickly stepped in and offered his hand to Ronnie. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Mister Kray. I own the Kingsman tailor shop, and I was just telling your friend Teddy here that my tailors and I would love to gift you and your brother some exquisite suits.”

Ronnie’s mouth curved up into an easy, crooked smile as he pulled his hand back from the handshake and then went to pluck something off of Harry’s shoulder even though Harry was sure there was nothing for him to pluck in the first place.

“Well, if the suit you’re wearing is anything to judge by, I’m sure you’d be able to make us some really fucking amazing suits, eh?” Ronnie chuckled, loud and low, and Harry joined him politely with a softer one as Teddy was left between them, eyeing them both.

“Yes, I was already in touch with your brother Reginald earlier, but since I’ve had no reply, I was hoping to find you to see if we could arrange a meeting. You’re more than welcome to drop by the shop to look at some materials and have a feel of our fabrics and designs.”

“Consider me sold!” Another loud chuckle from Ronnie. “Just name the place and time.”

“Could I..?” Harry made a gesture for some pen and paper, and with a flick of his hand, Ronnie sent Teddy over to the desk to fetch a piece of paper and a pen for Harry. As he handed them to Harry, for the shortest moment, Harry could feel the warmth of Teddy’s fingers. He mumbled a soft thank-you before scribbling down the address and the number of the tailor shop and handing it back to Teddy who handed it over to Ronnie.

Ronnie was leaning against the desk, looking down at the paper before glancing back up at Teddy and then at Harry.

“Perfect. We’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you. And congratulations again on the opening of this phenomenal club”, Harry said before retreating back out of the office, and the last thing he saw before blending back into the crowd dancing to jazz music again was Teddy and the piercing gaze of his beautiful blue eyes.

“I’m ready to be picked up, Merlin”, Harry spoke quietly, and he wasted no time in making his way to the front door and out of the club.

Harry didn’t say a word when Hamish picked him up and drove him back home. Hamish knew him well enough to leave him alone and not push his buttons when he clearly didn’t want to speak. He also knew that Harry would share his findings and a mission report when he was ready. It was a silent agreement, a mutual understanding.

Later that night, as Harry got out of his suit and into some loungewear, he had almost forgotten about the notebook he had stolen from the Krays secret office. Tying the belt of his robe around his waist, Harry set the book on his desk and sat down. It turned out to be an address book, full of names and addresses, some numbers and descriptions of people. Harry knew he should have focused on going through the names to find ones he could recognise, ones that would match what previous information he had about the Krays’ connections, but he found himself scanning the pages for one name, and one name only:

Teddy.

**Author's Note:**

> This is, obviously, a crossover fic between the Kingsman films and the 2015 film Legend. The Kray twins are based on Tom Hardy's portrayal in Legend. Eggsy and Teddy are the same person; his real name is Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, but the Krays call him Teddy (based on Taron Egerton's portrayal of "Mad" Teddy Smith in Legend). I've chosen to use Hamish as Merlin's real name, because in the novelisation of the second Kingsman film, he introduces himself as Hamish to Ginger Ale, and I like the back-and-forth of real names and code names between him and Harry. I know it's a little complicated at first, but bear with me, I promise it will get easier as we go along! 
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr @lovelesscherub! :)


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